Stephen Colbert: Quentin Tarantino cries during rom-coms

The Late Show With Stephen Colbert

From the files of “Stars, they’re just like us!” comes this gem: Quentin Tarantino cries during romantic comedies.

“Rom-coms are a guilty pleasure of mine. Especially on airplanes. Kate Hudson is the queen of the skies as far as I’m concerned,” Tarantino told Stephen Colbert on Tuesday’s episode of The Late Show. “I have found myself crying — just literally weeping — at the embarrassing confession movies.”

Which movies? How about 2009’s Ghosts of Girlfriends Past with Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner. Tarantino recounted the plot to Colbert, and then explained why it hit his emotions just right.

“In that movie, he’s this sexy fashion photographer. Famous fashion photographer. Has a ton of girlfriends. He’s a real jerk,” Tarantino said of McConaughey’s character. “He’s known her for a while. Then it goes to a flashback when they knew each other when they were children. They’re at a swing, and it’s snowing in a park. She gives him a birthday gift, and he opens it up and it’s a camera. It’s actually the first camera I was ever given when I was a kid. And all of a sudden, I just start crying.”

As Tarantino told Colbert, he didn’t mind the tears all that much. “I am such a fan of audience manipulation by filmmakers. I feel half of my job as a filmmaker,” he said. “I might be embarrassed mentioning it but at that moment I was having a good time.”